Game News Pillars of Eternity Kickstarter Update #70: Screenshots, Stats and Stuff

[abnaxus]

Frermàs mes Canc Suolias

 

[Surf Solar]

Loving the look of the UI so far, but it looks a bit too crowded and some symbols look weird. Sawyers obsession with languages annoys the shit out of me.
Also, why is that screen not fullscreen like in the old days -.-

 

[J_C]

Also, why is that screen not fullscreen like in the old days -.-

I think with a high resolution it would be a waste of space.

 

[Surf Solar]

I don't care, make it optional that it fills out the entire screen. Instead it looks like a MMO UI.

 

[Duraframe300]

The biggest problem I have with what they showed so far is all the names/places/fantasy things just sound so fucking gay. I made up better fantasy names when I was 10.

I'm no linguist but it reminds me of the Celtic languages, more specifically Welsh.

I prefer it to things like Moonsea, Sword Coast etc.

But yes Welsh is often called gay, mostly because it is totally unpronounceable to anyone outside of Wales.

Sawyers taking language insperation all over.

I like it.

 

[Diggfinger]

I pledged to this game, albeit reluctantly. I'm sure I'll play it and I'm sure I'll enjoy it to at least some degree. But goddammit is there not a single thing it can do to make me excited about it.

Im actually getting cautiously excited about the game*. But seriously, they should take minimum 2 additional years to make it feature-rich/multiple playthrough friendly and all that. I guess all we can hope for is a descent "small" game with miminum bugs. But for the love of all that is holy make it bigger than Shadowrun Returns!

*But goddamn I regret my 65 dollar pledge !!

 

[Diggfinger]

Frermàs mes Canc Suolias

I think that's Welsch for diarrhoea

 

[Duraframe300]

Frermàs mes Canc Suolias

I think that's Welsch for diarrhoea

Location: Brussels



I mean. It's a faux language made of different languages. But, seriously dude?

 

[SCO]

NO CLICKABLE HYPERLINK UI (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻)

with descriptions from clicking equipment or stats (in fact, no inventory on the same tab as the information)

Maybe it's still possible to show all contributions to a single stat if that info textfield is dynamic... :wishfulthinking:

The ToEE evil inventory usability with it's dynamic info boxes actually obliterates this, by having a fullscreen inventory where information will appear in a modal dialog if you click on the relevant part (so it doesn't look weird, a modal dialog over a modal dialog).
I get that with larger screens the empty real eastate starts to get weird, but for fucks sake, just do borders or a dynamic info field if you still want to show a modal stats screen.
I want to be able to click on equipment and see what it affects towards the total of stats, and also click on hyperlinks to the definition of the stats on that info, that will count all contributions towards that stat.
I want to be able to select click a stat symbol and end up in the same page.

 

[Harold]

I find it funny that you guys are surprised at Sawyer's 'Check out how much of a linguist I am, look at all these Welshy names. Yeah, I'm a total fucking scholar, very much unlike the rest of my fellow uneducated designers' showing off. I mean, you did play NV, right? The game that confused popamoletards to no end with the way npcs pronounced Caesar and where Arcade's (who was written by Sawyer) every other line was a Latin expression, because that's what all gay doctors do in the post-apocalypse, they learn them some good ol' Latin. And keep in mind, this was in a Bethesda-published game, so Todd most likely told him to 'cut down on that weird Klingony language' before release.

Other than that expected pretentiousness, I like the stat screen a lot.

 

[SCO]

BTW, the +number (next to the 'Mig 13' for ex) on the top part of the text panel is relative to what, their baseline stats + the equipment? Maybe it will be possible to click on those (or the derived stats under the portrait) and get a breakdown, and it's only unselected that the text at the bottom shows 'all' equipment effects.

 

[Infinitron]

BTW, the +number (next to the 'Mig 13' for ex) on the top part of the text panel is relative to what, their baseline stats + the equipment?

As you can see from looking at the bottom part, the numbers at the top include the equipment bonus.

 

[SCO]

I hope that the inventory screen also has a usable way to display that info. But then again, since this game apparently doesn't stack stuff (supressed ) maybe it's not so important was it was in ToEE etc.
At least they're actually displaying that information, the rest is UI design.

 

[Infinitron]

BTW, the +number (next to the 'Mig 13' for ex) on the top part of the text panel is relative to what, their baseline stats + the equipment? Maybe it will be possible to click on those (or the derived stats under the portrait) and get a breakdown, and it's only unselected that the text at the bottom shows 'all' equipment effects.

Oh wait, I think I may have misunderstood your question.

Did you mean to ask whether the "+26% damage" for instance is +26% on the damage of the weapon you've got equipped? Yes, in that sense, it's also "relative to the equipment".

It seems the "baseline stat" is zero. Eg, every Dexterity point over zero gives you +2 Accuracy, every Might point over zero gives you +2% Damage, etc.

 

[SCO]

Ahhhh, the perils of using percentage points. '+26% of wat?'
Obviously, such a stat as 'healing' must have a per spell baseline, and a stat as 'damage' must be from weapons, while others are from the npc itself. Or even many baselines combined somehow (winner?)

This is why hyperlinks would be useful obsidian.

 

[Infinitron]

Ahhhh, the perils of using percentage points. '+26% of wat?'

This is why hyperlinks would be useful obsidian.

Well, the absolute Accuracy for instance is visible on the left - the grey fist. So are Stamina and Health. I suppose they could also show the absolute values for your currently equipped weapon, but remember that in this game the stats also affect spells and abilities in the same way they affect weapons, and you obviously can't show the absolute damage value of every single spell and ability a character has on one screen.

 

[SCO]

But you could if the bottom part of the text pane was contextual (hyperlinked), that's what i mean. And they could get rid of the 'detailed' screen i suppose.
And if there is equipment giving more than 2 stats or abilities/spells consuming more than 2 stats, for instance, such a detailed screen could show 'gotchas' in inventory (if it was on the same UI anyway).

edit: what is actually important is being able to compare during modifications, not so much during boring time. So in the inventory, or before completing level ups that modify stats non-automatically, i'd appreciate access to spell lists, weapons contributory stats, etc, so i can see numbers growing or shrinking.

 

[Irenaeus]

So they actually moved damage to Strength (Might) to shut up autists, good show from Sawyer

It was associated with what before? I can't read the mega threads (and apparently updates/interviews).

 

[Infinitron]

Yo, Sensuki, do you know which one of the "grey stats" on the left hand side increases on level-up? All of them? I think Defense does, right?

 

[Harold]

It was associated with what before?

Intelligence.
What actually happened is that the old INT became Might (same effects as the old INT), CON stole the old STR's effects, aside from inventory space, which mysteriously disappeared, and the new INT now does other stuff.

 

[Roguey]

Yo, Sensuki, do you know which one of the "grey stats" on the left hand side increases on level-up? All of them? I think Defense does, right?

All them except DT, which is armor. Having only one defense increase on level-up would be silly.

 

[Infinitron]

Yo, Sensuki, do you know which one of the "grey stats" on the left hand side increases on level-up? All of them? I think Defense does, right?

All them except DT, which is armor. Having only one defense increase on level-up would be silly.

So, both Accuracy AND Defense increase on level up? That's an important difference from D&D, where THAC0/BAB increases on level-up but AC is determined entirely by equipment (after attribute bonuses)

There's also no attribute bonus to Defense though, it seems, so that helps even it out a bit.

 

[Zed]

Pallegina is a pretty damn funny name now when I think about it.

 

[Roguey]

So, both Accuracy AND Defense increase on level up? That's an important difference from D&D, where THAC0/BAB increases on level-up but AC is determined entirely by equipment (after attribute bonuses)

There's also no attribute bonus to Defense though, it seems, so that helps even it out a bit.

Yes. Defense is determined by class, level, shields, and possibly/probably magical bonuses.

 

[SwiftCrack]

God I love that area screenshot. Infinity Engine 2.0 (the good kind) indeed.